German company Fraport to sell entire stake in Delhi airport; keen to bid for Navi-Mumbai airport

MUMBAI: After a very public venting of ire against the regulatory environment and discontent with the way government in India handled the infrastructure sector, German airport company Fraport, the second largest airport operator in the world, said it will exit its lone Indian airport investment in GMR-run Delhi International Airport (DIAL).

"We are talking to our JV partner GMR and hopefully we would be able to complete the transaction by the second or third quarter of the next financial year for selling our entire 10% stake in DIAL," Kai Zobel, vice-president for global investments, Fraport, told ET.

The German airport operator also said that it would be willing to bid for the Navi Mumbai airport project.

"Navi-Mumbai airport project would be perfect for us. But we do not know if the government is really keen to privatise it or not. We ideally would want to have a greater stake in our businesses, more than the 10% that we had in DIAL. It would be ideal to have at least say 30% in any venture so that we can have some control over that business," Zobel said.

The German operator has 10% stake in DIAL that it bought in 2006 for 240 crore though GMR did not confirm this figure and its spokesperson said, "due to strategic reasons we will not comment on the investment made by Fraport. We are in discussion with Fraport over the stakesale and would not comment on it."

The German official, however, did not divulge the premium or the valuations that it is seeking for that stake that was bought six years back when the airports were privatised.

The foreign airport operators, according to concession agreements, are allowed to exit the joint venture after seven years from the date the airports become operational.

Zobel also did not clearly state that is it in talks exclusively with GMR or would look at other partners as well for the stake sale. "Let me put it this way that GMR is our preferred partner," Zobel said.

Earlier in June, ET had reported that Fraport might exit and its India managing director Ansgar Sickert was quoted as assaying, "We had some re-assessment... (and realised) that this government doesn't have any spine or drive. So, I personally doubt that anything will happen in the lifetime of UPA-II," Sickert had said.

Though Zobel defended his colleague, he said Sickert had a long relationship with India and that Fraport is positive about India.